'Insensitivity to atrocities reflects our moral decline' - Ruki Fernando
BY KITHSIRI WIJESINGHE
Ruki Fernando had served as the Head of Human Rights in Conflict Program (April 2007- March 2012), at Law and Society Trust (LST) - an organization involved in human rights documentation, legal research and advocacy work in Colombo. Before taking over his post at LST, he coordinated the Human Rights Defenders Program at the Asian Forum for Human Rights & Development (FORUM-ASIA) in Bangkok and also served as the Coordinator of the National Peace Program of Caritas Sri Lanka (SEDEC). In 2009 he received the prestigious Justice and Peace Award from Bishop Tji Hak Soon Foundation in Korea for his outstanding commitment to the defence of human rights.
As a tireless rights defender who has been instrumental in exposing gross rights violations taking place in the country, he sounds less convinced about the over-inflated sense of "post war success'.
'Nothing much has changed' says Ruki, 'except that the flag waving patriotic street shows have died down.'
For him, less guarantees of human rights means less hopes for civilization. "People keep talking about Black January's1 and Black July's and so on. But as far as justice and human rights are concerned, every month is black and every month brings memories of grave injustices and atrocities which we all are being forced to live with."
Excerpts from the interview follow:
JDS : As a prominent human rights defender in the country, how do you describe the current state of human rights in Sri Lanka?
